Wording of proposed gun bill questioned

CHARLESTON – A pro-gun group is speaking out against a proposed amendment to a bill prohibiting the creation of new gun laws.

Delegate Michael Folk, R-Berkeley, introduced an amendment to a bill, HB 4229, Monday to nullify future federal, state and local laws related to firearms.

“The intent of this bill is to stop new restrictive gun laws,” said Folk, lead sponsor. “If you stop new restrictive gun laws, you can go back through the repeal process where you open a section of code and strike bad language that restricts your Second Amendment rights.”

Folk, who introduced a similar bill last session, said the legislation especially pertains to federal restrictions.

The West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-gun lobbying group, is concerned about the wording, not the intent of the bill, said WVCDL president Keith Morgan.

“That bill would kill all future gun-related bills, good or bad,” Morgan said. “It is simply a wording error, and we do not believe that any legislator who signed on to that bill intended to sponsor an anti-gun bill. … Doing away with all gun laws would destroy any pro-gun progress we’ve had or will have in the future.”

Morgan said he does not think the bill will pass, but he wanted to explain that the bill would not offer protection from federal regulations.

“Delegate Cindy Frich introduced a bill with similar intent,” Morgan said. “It actually serves a decent example of how to write that kind of bill.”

Frich, R-Monongalia, said she would be hesitant to ban new laws.

“I don’t know about having no future laws,” Frich said. “They could be good future laws, especially at the local level.”

Frich introduced the Firearm Protection Act, HB 2832, this year. It would prevent the enforcement of federal regulations that relate to a personal firearm that is owned or manufactured in West Virginia and remains in the state. The attorney general may defend a citizen who is prosecuted by the U.S. government in violation of federal gun laws.

Any federal gun regulation, including registering guns, created after the first day of the bill’s introduction to the Legislature, would be unenforceable by state officials. Frich, who introduced the bill last year, said she did not think the bill will move in the Legislature this session.

“I don’t know if it’s because (the majority) are part of the same political party that’s trying to enact strong federal regulations or if it’s just because they’re the majority, and I’m a member of the minority,” Frich said.

The public has supported the bill, which is an attempt to assert states rights, Frich said.

“We’ve been handing over our state’s rights to the federal government,” Frich said. “Now we find the federal government’s doing things that I don’t believe people think they would ever be doing.”

Frich said the bill focuses on federal regulations because other state Legislatures may not have the same feelings that West Virginians have.

“West Virginians know our state Constitution protects our right to bear arms,” Frich said. “My concern is about some legislators from other states getting together, wanting to ban everyone’s guns. I don’t think West Virginians would like that very much.”

Folk said the amendment to the legislation he introduced is part of piecemeal reform of the state code regarding gun laws.

“The idea behind the bill is very simple,” Folk said. “The Second Amendment means what it says. Therefore, we shouldn’t be passing any new gun laws. We should be repealing some of the bad gun laws.”

Folk said legislators may reword the bill to make it “more palatable” to some people and then introduce a sister bill based on the 10th Amendment so only states could regulate firearms.